Commercial Gill-Net Ban Tightened in
California
Move to protect wildlife made at end of
season

Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2000

In an unprecedented move, state regulators have closed
much of the California coast to commercial gill- net fishing
to protect endangered seabirds and marine mammals.

The decision was made Monday by the California
Department of Fish and Game after agency biologists
determined that commercial gill nets were inflicting
substantial harm to common murres -- a seabird -- and the
southern sea otter.

The closure covers all the areas where it is still legal and
practical to gill-net for halibut, including all of Monterey
Bay and waters off parts of Marin County, the entire San
Francisco Peninsula and portions of Santa Barbara
County.

Although the order allows commercial fishermen to set gill
nets in water deeper than 360 feet, the nature of gill-net
gear and the configuration of California's offshore sea
floor make it impractical to fish at such depths.

Fishing industry officials said the order would be
devastating to the state's remaining gill-net fishery. ``It's
basically going to put these guys out of business,'' said
Michael Stiller, president of the Santa Cruz Commercial
Fishermen's Association.

About a dozen commercial boats gill-net for halibut in the
affected waters. Gill nets are wide-meshed nets that are
generally weighted on the bottom. As fish try to swim
through them, their gill plates are entangled in the mesh,
entrapping them.

The closure comes at the end of the summer season, when
most halibut are caught in California waters. It will be in
effect for 120 days and will then be reviewed. At that time,
regulators can either modify the order or make the closure
permanent.

A public meeting on the closure will be held by Fish and
Game from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 18 at Seaside City Hall in
Monterey County.

The closure comes after studies by state and federal
biologists concluded that the commercial gill-net fleet was
entangling and drowning large numbers of both common
murres and otters.

Murres have undergone steep declines in recent years
because of oil spills and warm water currents that have
reduced the fish they prefer to eat. To counter the trend,
state biologists are attempting to encourage new nesting
colonies on coastside cliffs.

SEA OTTER POPULATION DOWN

Sea otters -- cuddly looking marine predators that grace
T-shirts and sweatshirts at gift shops all along the
California coast -- have also dropped in numbers during
the past few years.

The closure is likely to fuel the controversy over
commercial fishing in national marine sanctuaries. Offshore
waters from Marin to Monterey counties constitute the
Gulf of the Farallones, Cordell Bank and Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuaries.

The closure is the most restrictive measure the state has
ever taken over the problem of ``bycatch'' -- the capture of
nontarget species. Restrictions on commercial fishing over
bycatch are extremely unusual. The last major bycatch
decision by the Fish and Game Department occurred about
a decade ago.

``We determined that gill-netters fishing in shallow water
were killing about 80 to 100 otters a year, so we made them
move to beyond 30 fathoms (180 feet),'' said David Bunn, a
deputy director for Fish and Game.

But bycatch closures may become increasingly common as
environmentalists sue to protect threatened wildlife
species.

While Monday's closure followed lengthy evaluation of
the situation by state biologists, it also appears to have
been at least partially motivated by a notice of intent to
sue by the Center for Biological Diversity, an
environmental group known for its lawsuits on behalf of
endangered species.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
recommended use restrictions on 5.4 million acres of land
to protect the California red-legged frog. That decision
was driven by a court order that resulted from a Center for
Biological Diversity suit.

BYCATCH OF ENDANGERED SPECIES

Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the center, said his
group wants to make certain only ``clean fisheries'' are
allowed off the California coast.

``On a fundamental level, we believe there should be no
bycatch of endangered or threatened species,'' Cummings
said. ``There may be situations where certain types of nets
are appropriate in certain places, but generally
hook-and-line fisheries, such as salmon trolling, (are
preferable).''

From a larger perspective, said Cummings, a hard look
must be taken at commercial fishing in national marine
sanctuaries, such as the waters off Monterey Bay and the
San Francisco Peninsula.

``A marine sanctuary is pretty hollow if commercial fishing
is allowed,'' said Cummings, who also said his group
doesn't have a problem with recreational angling.

News of the closure did not sit well with commercial
fishermen.

``It's a reactive rather than a proactive way of managing
fisheries,'' said Mike Ricketts, a Monterey area crab,
salmon and albacore commercial fisherman and a board
member of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations, a commercial fishing lobbying group.